Real Estate Sales and Purchases
Please contact Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq., an Experienced Real Estate Attorney in New Jersey.
Buying and Selling a Home
Buying a home, condo, multi-family, commercial, or investment property is a complicated and stressful procedure involving numerous decisions and tiny details one must attend to. If one does not pay close attention to detail, it may end up costing them time and money. It is often helpful to have a patient, experienced attorney to walk you through the entire process.
At Hanlon Niemann, Fredrick P. Niemann and his team know all the ins and outs of real estate throughout Monmouth County and in many areas of Ocean County, Mercer County, Somerset County, Union County, Middlesex County, Atlantic County, Camden County and Cape May County. Having represented clients for over 35 years, the attorneys at Hanlon Niemann often know the character, reputation, and highlights of a community, such as its schools. They have handled purchases and sales involving every type of property, including homes, multi-family residences, shopping centers, industrial, self-storage, and flex-space properties. Having called Monmouth County home for 35 years, you will not find a more experienced, local, friendly law firm around.
"Fredrick Niemann represented me in my house closing. Their real estate staff was consistently accessible and responsive to my questions, needs and concerns. Buying a home is stressful, but Fredrick Niemann made the process orderly and understandable."
—Esther Dice, Freehold, NJ» Read more testimonials
Foreclosures
With the declining real estate market, more and more people are seeing their homes and properties being foreclosed on. Fortunately, there may be a way to stop the foreclosure and find a solution that will allow you to keep your home, income, and peace of mind. Whether it involves negotiating a settlement with the bank or another solution, the attorneys at Hanlon Niemann will strongly advocate for your cause and promise to stop at nothing until you get the result you desire.
Avoiding Foreclosure Through Short Sales
Often the most intelligent thing to do before a bank forecloses on your property is to sell it through a “short sale”. These are sales in which one or more mortgage lender agrees to discount the debt owed to them so that the property can be sold at its current market value to a willing buyer. Short sales have become increasingly popular in recent years with the declining real estate market. They currently account for more than 40 percent of residential transactions and the numbers appear to only be increasing.
A short sale allows the person living in the home to avoid both foreclosure and bankruptcy, two less appealing alternatives. Foreclosure involves your home being seized and sold at an auction, often not for the total amount owed on the mortgage. Bankruptcy meanwhile destroys one’s credit. A short sale avoids both of these, instead allowing you to rid yourself of the mortgage debt while preserving your credit.
One may be asking, “Why would a bank or lender ever accept less money than they originally agreed to?” The answer is that lenders often prefer to accept a somewhat discounted price in exchange for avoiding the foreclosure proceedings entirely, since the foreclosure proceedings are protected and often involve them receiving less money than they would at a short sale. A lender who may received $80,000 of the $100,000 they are owed would much rather that than receiving $50,000 at foreclosure while another creditor received the $30,000 they could have had via a short sale.
The short sale process if often unique and complex. It involves not only intermediation between different lenders, but also extensive drafting of agreements and release documents. Real estate agents are most effective as the preliminary negotiators, finding the buyer and seller and providing date to the lender as to the hardships of the seller and financial background of the buyer. A skilled short sale attorney is needed after this however, especially when representing the seller. A knowledgeable attorney will draft the appropriate documents and negotiate with the lender to secure meaningful protection for the seller. The attorney is the one who will bring the sale to a successful conclusion.
With the increase in number of short sales taking place the past few years, lenders have hired “loss mitigation officers”, who negotiate short sales on behalf of the lenders. These officers however, are often overwhelmed with short sale applications from all over the country. Unfortunately, they often do not have adequate knowledge of the differences in state laws. This can lead to problems with the negotiation process and overall add to the complexity of negotiating a short sale. An experienced short sale attorney, armed with extensive knowledge of New Jersey short sale laws, will be able to bring peace to the chaotic negotiation process and make sure your rights are protected. Attorneys are often able to provide effective short sale formats that can satisfy the needs of both the loss mitigation officer and the homeowner.
Short Sales in the Future
The trend in short sales is expected to continue for the next few years due to the recent failure of some of the biggest lenders as well as the fact that those with adjustable rate mortgages can expect an increase in their interest rates. For this reason, many homeowners are smartly opting for short sales, rather than the costly, stressful process of judicial foreclosure.
Since lenders have become more willing to grant discounts via short sales in order to minimize their losses and rid their books of mortgages that are unlikely to be paid, more and more homeowners are taking advantage of this method. Along with the increase in short sales has come the demand for short sale attorneys. Homeowners and real estate agents have found a shortage of attorneys who are specifically trained in short sales, including the ability to appeal to mortgagees to discount their loan balance and therefore enable the home to be sold. The expansion of the popularity of the short sale process has not been proportionate with the growth of attorneys who specialize in this area. As a result, experienced short sale attorneys are in high demand. Visit www.njforeclosurelaw.com to learn more.
Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. has developed real experience to become an aggressive short sale negotiator. He is currently in strong demand as residential real estate values continue to decline and short sales continue to increase. The short sale attorney’s role is pivotal to the success of your short sale. Please contact Mr. Niemann today with any questions you may have regarding a short sale or foreclosure. He can be reached Toll Free: (888) 800-7442 or by email at fniemann@hnlawfirm.com.